A compendium of non-fiction pieces held together by the theme of 'Home' and commissioned from 21 of New Zealand's best writers. Strong, relevant, topical and pertinent, these essays are also compelling, provocative and affecting, they carry the reader from Dunedin to West Papua, Jamaica to Grey's Avenue, Auckland. In this marvellous collection Selina Tusitala Marsh, Martin Edmond, Ashleigh Young, Lloyd Jones, Laurence Fearnley, Sue Wootton, Elizabeth Knox, Nick Allen, Brian Turner, Tina Makereti, Bonnie Etherington, Paula Morris, Thom Conroy, Jill Sullivan, Sarah Jane Barnett, Ingrid Horrocks, Nidar Gailani, Helen Lehndorf, James George and Ian Wedde show that the art of the essay is alive and well.

Passengers on the British railway and underground must 'mind the gap' because it's dangerous not to. In a state of embarking or disembarking, passengers must stay aware of the small but significant space separating the stationary from the moving. The contemporary practices of writing and reading are in constant motion, and the phrase 'mind the gap' captures an essential aspect of the way language and literature progress as they pass through any number of social, technical, and political exchanges. 'Minding the gap' also suggests an awareness of the always shifting distance between the expected and the unexpected, the ordinary and the impossible, the familiar and unimagined.This book includes chapters on writing non-fiction, media and genre, and also addresses elements of identity, culture and linguistics in fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction as contributors consider the gaps that exist between the self as writer, as reader and as editor or mentor.The volume adopts the following key themes:* new gaps for creative writing in the academy;* writing in new genres, media and forms;* exploring the creative process and narrative strategies across disciplines.This book will be of international appeal to all readers interested in the changing landscape of creative writing.